Peter Paul didn't have the goods on Clinton and Co.- or if he does, he's not a credible enough person to make it stick at a trial. That's what happens when the prosecution's case is based on four convicted felons!- Tonken, Paul, Levin and Reggie. Rosen said that he's a non-accountant who relied on Paul's numbers, and thought that the gala-indulgences he saw were just gifts, and the jury believed him instead of four convicted felons.

During closing arguments, Rosen's lawyer, Paul Sandler, zeroed on the prosecution's decision not to call Paul or Tonken as witnesses. "Where is Peter Paul? Where is Aaron Tonken? Why are they not here?" Sandler asked... Justice Department prosecutor Daniel Schwager insisted that Paul and Tonken had "absolutely nothing" to do with the alleged underreporting. He accused Rosen of trying to dodge responsibility by blaming the two felons... One juror... said after Friday's verdict that he found it difficult to believe that Tonken and Paul were innocent pawns.

And what about that supposedly-incriminating secretly-recorded tape that Kennedy relative Raymond Reggie made for the prosecution?

The prosecution did subpoena two other convicted felons to testify against Rosen. James Levin and Raymond Reggie were both Democratic fundraisers who took part in the Hillary Clinton fundraiser... They testified that Rosen had expressed concern about the escalating costs. Levin, a Chicago businessman who recently pleaded guilty to bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges, quoted Rosen as having told him, "The costs of this event will not be the costs of the event"... Reggie, who is awaiting sentencing for bank fraud and check kiting in New Orleans, wore a concealed microphone during a dinner meeting with Rosen at the behest of the FBI. The tape was not played during the trial... "Where is the tape?" asked Sandler. "Bring it forth instead of relying on insinuations and hyperbole"... During a rebuttal, co-prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg told jurors that when the tape recording was made, Rosen already knew he was under investigation and was careful to say nothing incriminating.

Kickass Moments In Dormammu History

With a wave of his hand, Dormammu neuters both Thor and Iron Man. (Iron Man only wears skivvies under the armor, right? How human of Dormy to provide Stark with some street clothes.) From the Avengers-Defenders War.

(Weblog content and email-checking will likely be light until after Memorial Day. Enjoy the holiday weekend, everyone!- and remember those who have died so that we could have the freedom to mouth off on blogs.)

Alan Moore moves third installment of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from DC to Top Shelf [Lying In The Gutters] [Newsarama]
The V For Vendetta movie was the last straw. Also at Gutters: Lots of printing errors in Marvel's TPB and HC collections- and lots of error in Marvel's response, too.

Book publishing stats: more titles, fewer sales, higher prices [AP (Salt Lake Tribune link)] [via Boing Boing]
Book sales are down, CD sales are down, film box offices are down, gluts up, prices up. Sounds like comics are part of a bigger downward cultural phenomenon- although no doubt the arc is bent lower for comics because comic shops are not as ubiqitous as bookstores, music shops and movie theaters- and because books, music and films aren't 90% of one genre like comic books in the direct market seem to be.

If you're not reading med blog and Neilalien fave Polite Dissent, then you're not learning
Neilalien just wanted to give a shout-out after catching his first episode of med TV show House last night (for Sela Ward, naturally).
Update: Would House (Hugh Laurie) be good casting as Dr. Strange? [Howling Curmudgeons]

Fundraiser Says He Trusted Hosts' Figures [Washington Post]
Ex-Aide to Sen. Clinton Denies Ordering That Costs of Fundraiser Be Concealed [LA Times]
David Rosen takes the stand in his own defense. With costs for the lavish Clinton fundraiser spiraling out of control, did he underreport the costs to avoid losing hard campaign money, as the prosecution says, and fight with staff and direct people to falsify the costs, as the prosecution witnesses say? Or did Peter Paul conceal the true costs from Rosen to stay 'in' with the Clintons and get Bill into Stan Lee Media, as Rosen claims?

Rosen looks pretty guilty right now, no matter how much one might think Peter Paul is a snake. Rosen served as national finance director for the campaign, and had plenty enough fundraising experience to have known how much such an extravagant gala would have cost; to say he didn't know is dubious. Maybe Paul is right: there's no way Rosen could not have known. It looks like Rosen is pointing the finger at the two easy targets, gala hosts Paul and his protege Aaron Tonken, two convicted felons so noncredible as sources that they weren't called as witnesses for the prosecution, even though they've been the subject of considerable testimony.

Aside: The NY Times said the travel agent's name was Bretta Nock, the LA Times said it's Gretta. The Washington Post stories say Rosen is 40, the LA Times ones say 38. Neilalien's used to years of bad comic-book-company-press-releases-as-journalism softening his brain, but is all journalism poor like this?

"I liked the book, but I would have liked it a lot more if there was more vision and less Squirrel Girl." [Alan David Doane at Talk About Comics]
Neilalien agrees! Let this be the last word on the poisoned sandwich that is Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko.

Rape is the lazy writer's friend; Against the grim and grit in today's comics [Ninth Art]

Graphic Novels Drive April Sales; Comics Down 5% [ICv2]
Sin City fuels 27% growth rate for GNs, while comic book periodicals flat. Strange #5 was #53 on the list, with 36,970 initially sold in the direct market.
Analysis of comics that sold less than a third printing! of Identity Crisis #3 in April; stunting [The Beat]

Comic fans, nerds, or superhero zombies, or whatever you want to call them, may scream and shout about how their childhoods are getting raped, but *they're still buying the stupid books*... If the sales of those books plummeted, they would stop. That's the bottom line... Because the vast majority of readers will take whatever is dished out to them in the guise of their favourite characters and books that they can't bear to stop buying, no matter how bad they get.

In a blow to federal prosecutors, a judge said on Friday that he would probably toss out one of three criminal charges against Hillary Rodham Clinton's former chief fund-raiser, David F. Rosen... The comments by the judge, A. Howard Matz, came in the course of a day that also featured testimony from two men who are stars in their individual firmaments: Stan Lee, a co-creator of Spider-Man, and Harold Ickes, the longtime adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former deputy chief of staff at the White House...

[T]he judge was receptive to the defense contention that one count should be dropped because the government did not prove that Mr. Rosen had anything to do with the election-commission filing involved...

In a brief appearance, Mr. Lee described the gala, at which he was host, as "the biggest moment of my life; I was on stage and introduced President Clinton."

And he told the jury that in connection with the gala he had made a $225,000 loan to Peter F. Paul, a co-founder of the now-defunct Internet company Stan Lee Media and the man who paid for the gala. Mr. Lee said the loan was never repaid.

Mr. Paul is one of the people Mr. Rosen says misled him about the costs of the gala. Mr. Paul has complained for years that he spent millions of dollars on the event only because he wanted Mr. Clinton to work on behalf of the company, which did not occur... Mr. Paul has also sometimes said that he wanted a presidential pardon for two long-ago criminal convictions, involving fraud and intent to distribute cocaine. He is currently awaiting sentencing on newer charges, after pleading guilty on Long Island to manipulating the stock of Stan Lee Media.

Paul directly bilked The Man out of $225,000!

A professional party planner named either Bretta or Gretta Nock testified that she was told by Rosen to falsify fundraiser costs
Witness Says She Was Told to Cut Clinton Gala Charge [New York Times]
Ex-Aide to Senator Implicated in Trial [LA Times]

And Alan J. Krausen, a travel agent, said that more than $31,000 was spent on a private plane for Cher, her entourage and the band Sugar Ray. Muhammad Ali was also transported in a smaller plane, which cost about $24,750... But the organizers of the gala did economize in one way, Mr. Krausen said; they decided against hiring a bigger and more expensive plane that could also have accommodated Rosa Parks, the civil rights figure. She did not attend the gala.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's brother-in-law testified Thursday that he wore a concealed device to record a conversation with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's former finance director, David Rosen, in advance of Rosen's indictment on campaign finance charges... At the outset of his testimony, Raymond Reggie, a member of a politically prominent Louisiana family, acknowledged having pleaded guilty last month to federal check kiting and conspiracy charges... Reggie, whose sister is married to Kennedy, said he hoped to win a lighter prison sentence by cooperating in the Rosen investigation.

Neilalien wouldn't want Marvel to break the internet with this hot controversial content, so he's providing a snarky Shorter Joey Q this late rainy Friday afternoon (with the ulterior motive of hopefully purging all of the anger and bullshit-detecting and critical thinking (or at least what passes for critical thinking on this website...) now, so the weekend is freed up for mindless Star Wars enjoyment):

Re: The past concept of streamlining of the X books that's long gone now: First, they are more diverse now. Instead of six books about mutants time-traveling, there are six books about mutants each from a different point of view. (Ooh!) Second, we found out that X books sell so why decrease the number of titles? (Ah!)

Re: Orson Scott Card and his statements about homosexuality: As long as he can express his apparently inherently prejudicial view in a way that's devoid of prejudice (huh?), then to say that he shouldn't be working for Marvel because of his view is McCarthyism.

Marvel has to act like a real publisher- it can't keep low-selling books going like the Time-Warner-R-&-D-factory DC can. (Meow!)

Old-time creators used to be late and miss deadlines all the time too. (Sure, but Neilalien doesn't seem to remember quite so many reprint filler issues then as there are constant months of nada now. Reprint fillers would never fly today (they didn't fly back then), but if they were still in practice, we'd all have entire runs of Amazing Spider-Man from Kevin Smith's Spider-Man/Black Cat book! (And tell Neilalien again why a 4 or 6 issue mini-series should ever have a late book?))

Comics today take creators a lot more time to create. In the olden days, we were cranking out throw-aways for kids, with no backgrounds drawn in. We'd be called hacks if we did that today. (Yet that old stuff is revered, and looks cleaner, while most of today's stuff feels so much more disposable/forgettable and muddy/cluttered... Okay, granting a fuller (that word is dubiously used in this decompressed age) experience is demanded from creators: Wondering then if maybe the monthly scheduling model needs to change somehow? Artist job positions that just do backgrounds? Neilalien doesn't have the solution, but anything's got to be better for business than late books (and all these publisher excuses for late books), right?)

Lawyer guy re: downloading and piracy, "We stand behind our creators and we will not tolerate them being ripped off." (Unless it's Marvel doing the ripping off: Elsewhere in the interview: "the reason that guys like Kirby did so many pages in those days is that the rates were so low- that was what he had to do to pay his mortgage and feed his family. He wasn't working 15 hours 6-7 days a week because he wanted to." And Stan Lee had to sue for his contracted share of the loot. And Dave Cockrum needed to make a broke-and-in-a-hospital-bed deal. And...)

Dr. Strange tops 'Which Marvel comic would you like most to see revived as an ongoing title?' [Tony's Online Tips poll results]
And Neilalien didn't even sic the Neilalienistas to skew the poll results! Note: 'The Question gaining super-powers of sorts' showed up on the 'Which recent comic-book event has angered/annoyed you the most?'

This past Saturday was free comic day at comic book shops across the nation. I picked up a number of titles, including one called Bongo Comics. It contained two Simpsons stories, one from the Futurama series and the final story was a six-page spoof of Dr. Strange, called Plasmo the Mystic. It touched all the bases. Silly alliterative spell invocations. The nemesis was Lebaron Fordor, who had killed their mentor, the Decrepit One. Plasmo lived in his Sanctum Suburban and he and Fordor were battling to gain control of the Baster of Bastur which they found at a yard sale. Their battle even took them into the realm of the Fearful Flamamu. IMHO this spoof is as good as anything from Mad Magazine.

Wow, Neilalien didn't see any previews of the Simpsons Gimme book that mentioned Doc Strange, and he didn't grab it on FCBD. Neilalien's asleep at the wheel- he's so sorry to the fans that he couldn't have alerted you ahead of time! So does anyone have a copy of this that they can send to Neilalien or scan for all of us?

Special Spotlight on Steve Ditko issue featuring 7 weird tales from pre-code and early Charlton titles: 3-D Death, The Night People, Night Of the Red Snow, He's Coming For Me, Little Boy Blue (starring the Mysterious Traveler) and The Shadow. Plus as extra special feature, Guard Duty, penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Ditko. Also in this issue is Those Who Are About To Die by Simon & Kirby and Buster Crabbe by Alex Toth. $6.95, 52 pages, b&w interior color cover by Steve Ditko.

Neilalien didn't even know about this! More evidence that he's lost his edge... He's headed back to the shop. Found via Franklin's Findings, who both teases Neilalien with the "special Steve Ditko issue" line but also throws him off the Google scent by calling it "America's *Best* Comics" ;)... While Googling for that book, Neilalien also found Atomeka Press' A1 Bloodmoon Special Mister Monster #2:

"My favorite super-hero as a kid was Dr Strange..." [new comicsblogger Comic Book Marathon gets on Neilalien's good side, happy for Essential Defenders]
And yup, Neilalien bought Excalibur #13 because Doc's on the cover.

Peter Paul may not have the goods on Hillary after all: Mrs. Clinton Not at Fault, Prosecutor Tells Jury [New York Times]

A federal prosecutor tried to answer at least one of those questions in his opening statement on Wednesday in Federal District Court, when he told the jury, "You will hear no evidence that Hillary Clinton was involved in any way, shape or form."... Indeed, the prosecutor, Peter R. Zeidenberg, said that the fund-raiser, David F. Rosen, tried to keep Mrs. Clinton's campaign from discovering how much money was donated to cover the costs of the star-studded event at the heart of this criminal case. The reason, Mr. Zeidenberg said, is that Mr. Rosen was afraid he would be fired if the campaign found out how much money he had spent on the August 2000 event, the Hollywood Gala Salute to President William Jefferson Clinton.

Marvel's taking a lot of things back this week
Expanding stock buyback plan another $150 million [AP on Yahoo]
Unsold copies of uber-late series Daredevil: Father #1 (which shipped in April 02004) are returnable [Newsarama]

Rosen, 40, faces five years in prison on each of three charges related to what prosecutors called an egregious underreporting of the fundraiser, where Cher, Michael Bolton and Melissa Etheridge performed and A-list celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Muhammad Ali attended... The case centers on Peter Paul, who was a partner of Stan Lee, the comic-book legend. The two ran a short-lived Internet venture, Stan Lee Media, which not only let Rosen use its offices to plan the gala but also agreed to underwrite its cost... Paul, a convicted felon on bail on an unrelated criminal case in North Carolina, is not expected to testify... Rosen's defense is expected to argue that he had no way of knowing that the figures he reported were wrong because he relied on information given to him by Paul and others... The case is being closely watched because of possible implications for Clinton, who faces reelection next year and is considered a potential candidate in the 2008 presidential race.

Rosen, 40, reported the event was underwritten by about $400,000 worth of "in kind" contributions- goods and services provided for free or below cost- but Peter F. Paul, a three-time convicted felon who pleaded guilty in March to securities fraud charges, has told prosecutors he gave the campaign at least $1.1 million for the affair... Paul has filed a lawsuit claiming he bankrolled the gala on a promise that former President Clinton would become a "goodwill ambassador" for his Internet media company [Stan Lee Media]. He is ready to testify against Rosen, according to his attorney, Joseph Conway.

Earth-616. The numeric designation comes from the date of publication of Fantastic Four I #1, the start of the Modern Era/Marvel Age of Comics. June 1961 (or 1961 June) = 61/6 = 616. Alan Moore coined this term in an issue of Captain Britain. The term is used a lot now because of the Ultimate Universe. It's used by people to say they are talking about the original Marvel Universe and not talking about the Ultimate-verse.

The HillCAP website is copyright The United States Justice Foundation, "your conservative voice in the courts". Neilalien remembers that it was originally a righty group called Judicial Watch that was pushing this story, but this interesting tidbit is from the New York Times story above:

In fact, Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that repeatedly sued the Clintons during their White House years, initially championed Mr. Paul's case. But a few months ago, Judicial Watch abruptly severed ties with Mr. Paul, who, in turn, accused the group of merely using his case to raise millions of dollars from people who dislike the former president and first lady.

Must-see: Video of Peter Paul's Hannity and Colmes appearance [Jackson's Junction]
Paul is also making the righty talk-show rounds. From the video, Paul is challenged by a quote from the New York Times by Aaron Tonken, a jailbird for fraud himself:

Mr. Paul's former associate, Mr. Tonken, says he belives that Mr. Paul's accusations against the Clintons were an attempt to cut a deal with federal investigators looking into the financial improprieties at Stan Lee Media. "I know David Rosen personally and he is a good person," Mr. Tonken said. "Paul knew he had to give up the Clintons to save himself."

Peter Paul has pled guilty and faces up to ten years in prison for securities fraud/stock manipulation re: Stan Lee Media.He screwed over Stan The Man! Neilalien thinks he's a snake. Neilalien thinks he slithered to Brazil in an attempt to avoid justice, and that he offered up Clintonian dirt for the same reason.

Neilalien also thought, assumed, given that the man has no credibility re: the stock crime and failing the smell test re: Brazil and trying to deal/save himself, that Paul's dirt would prove completely baseless. But now wait- apparently that dirt was at least good enough for the cops to base a trial against Clinton fundraiser Rosen- so we will have to keep watching, maybe Paul has good dirt and could bring the Clintons down with him after all. If that's the case- wow!

Maybe Paul's a small snake who, while essentially trying to woo Bill Clinton into Stan Lee Media, got a peek into that viper's nest that is so much bigger than he is, that used him: political fundraising (Democrat, Republican, the party is irrelevant, Neilalien thinks that they're likely all snakes). And now Paul seems to be the little snake who's been ping-ponged, now stuck in another viper's nest that's bigger than him, and using him: the Clinton-Haters. Neilalien almost feels sympathy for the guy.

Where is this going to go? If the dirt's no good, then probably nada will come out of this. Even if Paul's dirt is real good, between his shot credibility, the political power of those he's opposing, and the blindly livid political agendaism of those who support him- would justice, were it needed re: The Clintons, even be possible in such an environment? Of course, if justice is needed, it should happen. But Neilalien remains skeptical. It's been a fascinating sideshow to observe over these years, and there may be some more chapters yet- but it still appears that the the jail door sliding closed in Peter Paul's face will be the only final and ultimate scene to this online flash movie. But we shall see.

The geeks have won- it's okay/unsurprising if the anti-nerd high culture warriors backlash [Forager]

I think Pauline Kael got it right when she defended trash culture back in the 60s: sometimes trashy stuff is more vibrant and connects more honestly with an audience than stuffy, self-conscious works of "serious art". But trash culture's positives are also its negatives: its vibrancy and up-to-the-second relevancy leave it disposable and unable to provide substantial cultural nourishment.

Marvel Really Wants to Produce [Motley Fool] [Fool Marvel conference call notes]
The Marvel movie production deal even makes usual-stock-booster Fool.com nervous. Sounds like Marvel's basically getting $525 million in credit financing to make up to ten movies, and the movie rights of the ten characters is the collateral, which is less risky than putting up their own money first. But how does Merrill Lynch see the movie rights for a property/character that would have just bombed as a movie (thus requiring financing payback and the collateral to change hands) as decent collateral?

News re: the very much missed Top 10 [Newsarama]
Top 10: The Forty-Niners graphic novel coming this month! Then, Top 10: Beyond The Farthest Precinct, a five-issue miniseries. Won't be by Alan Moore though- but by sci-fi writer Paul Di Filippo (recommended by Warren Ellis and Harlan Ellison) and legend Jerry Ordway, so maybe still worth checking out.

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